15 Awkward Times Presidential Candidates Used Pop Culture In Their Campaigns

Hillary, we're looking at you.

This year’s presidential election may as well be done entirely in memes. That’s right, millennials: this year is the year of the youth. In 2016, all of the candidates have one major goal: to be #relatable enough that you’ll cast a vote their way. So how are they going about doing this? They’re basically all giving their own personal interpretation of that scene in Mean Girls where Amy Poehler dances in the aisle with a camcorder while her daughter performs onstage. Here are 15 of the most cringeworthy times the presidential hopefuls tried to get your vote.

We all know that DJ Khaled’s Snapchat is the key to more success, but do we really need to be hearing that from a GOP candidate? The answer is a resounding “no,” but that didn’t stop Jeb Bush from tweeting a screenshot from a jokey video DJ Khaled did on Jimmy Kimmel’s show in which he tried to motivate the candidate to win more. Jeb wasn’t even available to film the spot, so Khaled Khaled is yelling at a cardboard cutout…who just might have a better chance of winning than the IRL version of Jeb!.

2. Hilary dabbing on Ellen

On a segment of the Ellen show, Hillary can be seen dancing — well, trying to — to Fetty Wap’s "Trap Queen," as she learns the dab and the nae nae. And just like that, the dab was dead. Long live the dab.

3. Hillary on Snapchat

We apologize if this list seems like a lot of Hillary, but sometimes it seems like the Democratic hopeful is never not trying to relate to the #youths. ‘Chillary Clinton’ is just one of the many pandering slogans Clinton’s people have employed on her Snapchat, which is a treasure trove of these embarrassing moments.

In one of her cooler moments, Hillary was included in a selfie with Kim Kardashian and husband Kanye West (maybe you’ve heard of him). Perhaps this is just a taste of what we’ll get if Kanye runs in 2020.

5. President Obama’s viral Buzzfeed video

He’s not a presidential hopeful, but the guy still has to make us like him for a considerable amount of time until someone takes his spot. What better way to relate to the youths than through our most trafficked online hangout, Buzzfeed.com? In the video titled "Things Everybody Does But Nobody Talks About,” Barry does everything from shooting a wastebasket jumpshot to looking in his (questionably dirty!) mirror and saying “Thanks, Obama!”

We love you, Bernie. You're great. But please don’t continue to go all Norm Kelly with bits like this ‘Hotline Bling’ video you did on Ellen. This is proof that even the most progressive candidates can trip up in trying to get young people to notice them, especially when Drake is involved.

8. President Obama on Between Two Ferns

This is definitely one of the most successful plays at getting the youth vote: something that’s actually funny. Obama sat down with Zach Galifinakis to create some serious comedy gold, giving us a bunch of quotable gems, and solidifying his spot as our coolest president of all time. Going to miss you, you non-embarrassing dad-jokester.

Hillary Clinton and Lena Dunham, are both good at what they do, and they’ve broken considerable stereotypes as they’ve risen to the tops of their respective fields. But trying to use a member of Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour squad to relate to the cool feminist 20-somethings out there might be a stretch.

10. Senator O’Malley covering Taylor Swift

You know that we’re all about the Taylor Swift covers over here, but the one person who really could have spared us from yet another “Bad Blood” moment was Senator O’Malley, who took to a TV morning show to play his guitar like the attention-seeking kid in the middle of a bad party. I really don’t care about whether or not my president gets down to this sick beat.

11. Bernie Sanders sitting down with rapper Killer Mike of Run The Jewels

In what was both a cool and educational play at the youth vote, Bernie Sanders sat down with rapper Killer Mike from the ever-dope rap duo Run the Jewels to talk about his policies and feelings on the political climate today. They cover a lot of very real topics, and in general, it’s an interesting and informative conversation. No Snapchatting necessary!

12. Ben Carson commissioning this awful rap song

In a way less cool and way less educational play at the youth vote, Ben Carson has been running this radio ad in a bunch of cities to try to be relatable to a different demographic than normally found in the GOP: rap fans. It is, quite possibly, the worst rap song in human history. Thankfully, Ben Carson himself does not rap, but another rapper’s verses about Carson are interspersed with sound bites from his speeches, making for a truly horrible auditory experience. No remix, please.

Trump rarely tries to relate to youths who aren’t busy putting on bowties and pretending to be 51-year-old landowners, but it’s my personal belief that his ‘Make America Great Again’ hats are being sold entirely because of the fact that they have ironic appeal. Can’t you just see the hippest kid at your school rocking this hat for a big LOL because of how uncool it is?

We’re all for talking about things in a relatable and honest manner, but this tweet asking Twitter to tell Hillary their feelings on their student loans by using emojis should have never seen the light of metaphorical Internet day. And yet here we are. (And sadly, they don’t make an emoji that succinctly embodies the term “$40k in debt.”)

Listen. Candidates. We need to talk. Listicles — including this one about how you’re just like dear old abuela — are not the way to get down with the kids. We know you want to win the coveted Latino vote, but this list might possibly be the biggest pandering blunder ever. Tons of sites were quick to point out how misguided this attempt was — not least of all because abuelas aren’t typically wilding out on social media trying to be cool. Perhaps all the candidates can take a lesson from abuelas everywhere and just. Chill. Out. Dios mio.